Power-operated hedge trimmer



Nov. 10, 1953 Filed July 17, 1951 c. D'ODEGGE PowER-oPERATED HEDGETRIMMER 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Nov. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to attachments for power tools and moreparticularly to attachments for hand drills and the like.

A primary object of my invention is to Drovide a novel attachment forhand drills and the like, which may be powered by a rotative source ofpower such as the drive shaft of a hand drill and is eifective in anovel and eX- peditious manner to drive hand tools which operate with areciprocatory motion.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel attachment of theaforementioned type which .is well balanced, easy to handle and whereinthe reciprocating hand tool member is driven substantially in alignmentwith the path of travel of the reciprocating drive member of theattachment.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel attachment whichmay be readily assembled and disassembled, is sturdy in construction butis light in weight, and which is practical and eflicient in operationand may be readily manufactured commercially in an eilicient andeconomical manner.

Yet another object of my invention is to afford a novel cutterattachment of the reciprocating hedge-trimmer type for hand drills, andthe like, wherein one side wall of the attachment affords the cutter barthereof, and the knife of the attachment is supported in a novel andexpeditious manner.

A further object of my invention is to enable reciprocatory cuttermembers, such as hedgetrimmers, to be readily driven in a novel andexpeditious manner as an attachment to handdrills and the like, and,when so used, to afford novel, practical, power driven devices forperforming cutting operations.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferredembodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and whatI now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applyingthese principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the sameor equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be madeas desired by those skilled in the art without departing from thepresent invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hedge trimmer attachment operativelyconnected to a hand drill and embodying the principles of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the attachment shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 inFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view taken substantially along the line 4 4in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an end elevational view looking in the direction of the arrows5-5 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the attachment shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken substantially along the lines 11 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 inFig. 1.

A hedge-trimmer attachment 20 for electric drills, and the like, isshown in the drawings to illustrate a preferred embodiment of myinvention. The attachment 20 comprises, in general, a housing H, Figs. 1and 2, supporting a cutter mechanism C, the cutter mechanism C beingoperatively connected to a drive mechanism M mounted in the housing Hand projecting therefrom for ready connection to a suitable power sourcesuch as a hand drill D.

The housing I-I comprises a top wall 22, two end walls 24 and 25, twoside walls 21 and 28 and a bottom wall 29. The top wall 22, side walls21 and 23 and end walls 24 and 25, form a substantially invertedcup-shaped body member 3l preferably formed as one piece from suitablematerial such as, for example, cast aluminum. The bottom wall 29 is madeof suitable material such as sheet steel and is removably attached tothe body portion 3l of the housing H by four screws 33 extending throughthe bottom Wall 29 and threadedly engaged in bosses f 34 projectinginwardly from the side walls 21 and 28 adjacent the corners of the bodymember 3l.

The bottom wall 29 of the housing H has a free end portion 29aprojecting forwardly from the housing H to afford the cutter bar for thecutter mechanism C of the attachment 20, suitable cutter teeth 35, Fig.l, being formed in one lateral edge of the free end portion of thecutter bar 29a. Between the teeth 35 and the housing H of the attachment20, an elongated slot 33 is formed in the cutter bar 29a, the slot 38extending longitudinally of the longitudinal center line of the cutterbar 29a for a short distance thereon.

An elongated .cutter blade 4| is mounted on the upper face of the cutterbar 29a in substantially parallel extending relation thereto forreciprocation longitudinally thereof. The blade 4| has a plurality ofcutting teeth 43 formed in 3 the lateral edge thereof which is disposedabove the edge of the cutter bar 29a on which the teeth 36 are formed. Areinforcing bar 45 is mounted on the upper surface of the blade 4| andextends along the lateral edge thereof opposite the edge on which theteeth 43 are formed. The blade 4| is releasably secured to the cutterbar 29a for reciprocation thereon by bolts 41, Figs. 1 and 8, extendingthrough the reinforcing bar 45 and the cutter ibar 29a and throughArespective elongated slots 49 formed in the blade 4|. The bolts 41 holdthe reinforcing bar 45 and the cutter bar 29a in sufilciently snugclamping relation to the blade 4| to retain .the latter `in properposition on the cutter bar 29a, but sutilciently loosely to permit theblade 4| to freely reciprocate longitudinally of the cutter bar 29a. Thereinforcing bar 45 has a longitudinally extending cavity 45a, Fig. 8,which may be filled with grease, or other suitable lubricant, tolubricate the contact of the blade 4| with the reinforcing bar 45 andthe .cutter bar 29a, the `grease fiowlng from the cavity '45a1through.the openings 49 into the space between the blade 4| and the cutter bar29a to lubricate the latter contact,

One end portion of the blade 41| is secured by a bolt 5| and a nut .52to one end portion 54 of the shank 51 of a substantially T-shaped slidemember 55 reciprocably mounted on the .bottom wall 29 in the housing H,the nut 52 and the lower end portion of the bolt '5| being disposed inthe slot 85 in the cutter bar 29a for reciprocation therealong. Theslide member 55 comprises the elongated shank 51, the'end portion 54 ofwhich projects outwardly from the housing H, and a cross bar 55, whichis disposed within the housing H and projects laterally lboth ways fromthe shank 51 in parallel relation to the bottom wall 29 of the housingH.

The free end portion 54 of the shank 51 of the slide 55 is off-setupwardly Vfrom the remaining portion of the shank '51 and -the blade 4|is secured bythe bolt `5| and the nut 52 to the lower face thereof insuch position that the blade 4| extends outwardly from the slide `55 insubstantial alignment with the body portion of the shank 51.

A boss 5|, having a downwardly extending partition wall 62 formed on theinner end thereof, projects inwardly from the end wall 24 of the housingH. The opposite end portions of the shank 51 are slidably mounted inrecesses 54 and 55 formed in the partition wall 62 and the end wall 25,respectively, and the end faces 51 and 58 of the cross `bar 58 of theslide 55 are slidably engaged with the `inner face of the side walls 21and 28, respectively, of the housing H, whereby the slide 55 is slidablymounted on the bottom wall 29 of the housing H for longitudinalreciprocation in and out of the opening 55, to reciprocate the blade 4|longitudinally of the cutter bar 28a.

A bevel gear 1| having teeth 12 on an upwardly disposed edge is mountedon a shaft 14, journaled in a boss formed on and projecting downwardlyfrom the central portion of the top wall 22 of the housing H. A pin 11is carried by the bevel gear 1| and projects downwardly from the lowerface thereof into an elongated slot 19 formed in the cross bar `58 ofthe slide 55. A roller 8|, rotatably mounted on the pin 11, is disposedin the slot 19 and is engaged with both longitudinal side walls thereof.The length of the slot 19 is such that during rotation `of the gear 1|,the roller 8| is free to move `back and forth longitudinally of the slot19 whereby the gear 4 1| effects reciprocation of the slide 55 in andout of the housing H, through the opening 55 in the front wall 25thereof.

Another bevel gear 84 is mounted on a shaft 85 journaled in a bushing 81which is mounted in and projects longitudinally through the boss 5| onthe end wall 24, the shaft 88 being disposed substantially parallel tothe bottom wall 29 and projecting outwardly from .the housing H andterminating thereat in an enlarged head 89. The bevel gear 84 isdisposed in meshing engagement with the bevel gear 1| and is pinned tothe shaft 55 for rotation therewith by suitable means such as a /setscrew 8|, Fig. 2.

A threaded opening 93 is tapped in the free end portion of the shaft 85to receive a suitably threaded stud 95 projecting from one end of anadapter or coupling member 91. The coupling member 91 has a shaft 98projecting from the end opposite to the stud 95, the shaft 98 beingoperatively engageablein Vthe chuck l|51 of the drill Dfor connectingthe shaft 85 to the drill D for rotation thereby. The coupling mber 91is readily removable 4from the shaft 88, and it will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art. that other coupling members may be used inplace thereof without departing from the purview of my invention.

A handle |55 is .mounted on the outer face of the side wall 28 of thehousing H and is secured thereto by a bolt |88 extending through thehandle |05 and threadedly engaged ina boss |88 projecting outwardly fromthe side wall 28.

A plug ||2 is threaded into a boss ||8 projecting loutwardly from theside wall 21 of the housing H and is removable therefrom to Vafford anopening, not shown, through which suitable lubricant, such as, greasemay ybe fed into the housing H to lubricate the moving parts embodiedtherein.

In the operation of my novel attachment 25 an adapter 91 of the propersize and shape may be screwed into the head l `of the shaft 88. With theadapter 91 so connected to the shaft 85, `it will be seen that the powerlmit or drill D may be readily operatively connected to the shaft 85 b.vengaging the chuck IM `with the shaft 498 of the adapter 91. Theoperator may then grasp the handle |85 on the attachment 28, with onehand. and the handle ||5 of the drill D in the other hand, and bycontrolling the control switch of the drill D, such as, the trigger ||1thereof, Fig. l, the shaft 85 may be driven by the drill D to therebyrotate the gears 54 and 1|, and cause the slide 55 to reciprocateinwardly and outwardly through the end wall 25 of the housing H.

Such reciprocation of the slide 55 is effective, through its connectionwith the blade 4|, to effect 4corresponding reciprocation of the blade4| longitudinally of the cutter bar 29a and thereinforcing bar 45, tothereby cause the teeth 48 of the cutter bar 4| to reciprocatetransversely across the teeth 35 of the cutter bar 25a in a series ofrapid cutting strokes effective to cut or clip grass, twigs, and thelike, coming into contact with the teeth 43' and 85.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have afforded a novelattachment for drills and the like, wherein the cutter blade of a hedgetrimmer or the like, may be quickly and easily connected to a suitablepower source such as, a hand drill for reciprocation by the latter.

Also, it will be seen that I have afforded a novel attachment whereinthe side wall or bottom wall of the housing thereof affords the cutterbar of a hedge trimmer, or the like, in a novel and expeditious manner.

Also, it will be seen that I have provided a novel attachment for handdrills, and the like, wherein a cutter blade is connected to a slide insubstantially longitudinal alignment therewith to aord a compact, wellbalanced, novel clipper attachment for such hand drills, and the like.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment ofmy invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variationand modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to theprecise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changesand alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An attachment for hand-drills and the like, said attachmentcomprising a housing including two oppositely disposed end walls, apartition Wall disposed between said end walls, and a removableelongated bottom wall, said bottom wall having one end portionprojecting outwardly from said housing and comprising an elongatedcutter bar, a substantially T-shaped slide comprising an elongated shankand a cross-bar, said slide being movably mounted on said bottom wall insubstantially parallel longitudinally extending relation thereto forreciprocation therealong, said shank extending through one of said endwalls and u through said partition wall in close tting relation theretofor guidance thereby, said shank having one end portion oiset upwardlyfrom said bottom wall, drive means rotatably mounted in said housing andincluding a coupling member for operatively connecting said drive meansto such a hand drill for rotation by the latter, said drive means beingoperatively connected to said cross-bar for reciprocating said slidealong said bottom wall upon such rotation of said drive means by such ahand-drill, and a cutter blade mounted on said cutter bar insubstantially parallel longitudinally extending relation thereto, saidcutter blade being operatively connected to said offset portion of saidshank in longitudinally extending relation to the remainder of saidshank for reciprocation by said slide member along said cutter-bar uponsaid reciprocation of said slide member by said drive means.

2. The attachment defined in claim l and in which said cross-bar has anelongated slot therein which has two parallel side walls extendingsubstantially transversely to said shank, and in which said drive meansincludes a coupling mem ber extending into said slot and simultaneouslyengaged with said side walls for operatively connecting said drive meansto said slide member.

CARL DODEGGE.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,357,031 Daugherty Oct. 26, 1920 1,787,802 Thibault Jan. 6,1931 1,878,549 Sireli Sept. 20, 1932 2,256,779 McHenry Sept. 23, 19412,268,221 Mischker Dec. 30, 1941

